Hahnville's Lou Valdin wins district coach of the year

Valdin talks to his team after their season winning loss to Parkway.

Hahnville High School head football coach Lou Valdin was awarded the All-District Coach of the Year award this year, marking the seventh time he has received such an honor.

Although the Tigers began the season at 0-4 for the worst start in Valdin’s career, his team turned around the season and won six-straight games and a district championship before being beaten in the second round of the playoffs.

While Valdin has won the award seven times, including last year and in 2009, he said he doesn’t pay attention to post-season accolades.

"Most of the time people see it on TV and they tell me," he said.

He said the award is more of a reflection of the coaching staff as a whole rather than him alone.

"It meant more to me when I was an assistant coach when the head coach got it," Valdin said. "It is more of a coaching staff award than me personally because they do the coaching."

In the end, Valdin shrugged off any personal pride in the award and said that his role is to provide a good organization for Hahnville High School students.

"It’s not about me, it’s all about the kids," Valdin said. "I guess anytime you get good publicity for Hahnville football it is a good thing. My wife gets mad that I get an extra plaque to put on the wall to collect dust."